Tour Code: CST0301

The Grand Peninsula

Full Day 

 
Sit back relax and enjoy the majestical views on route to the point where the two oceans supposedly meet.

The Cape Peninsula stretches from the Cape Town's City Centre to Cape Point and is flanked by the cold Atlantic on the west coast and the warmer waters of False Bay on the east coast.

Tour Highlights:

Sea Point
The most densely populated suburb of Cape Town with hotels and apartments all along the high rise seafront. Joggers, roller-bladers and dog walkers take their sport along the wide promenade while one block back, the Main Road provides restaurants, take-aways and shops. Prior to the V&A Waterfront’s existence, this was the evening hot spot, now more commonly frequented by locals than visitors. Sea Point has one or two small sandy coves but the coastline is mostly rocky with deep kelp seaweed beds. It has a couple of tidal pools, one of which is totally secluded and exclusively male. An old lady complained to the council that she could see men sunbathing in the nude, but when asked how it was possible to see them from her apartment, she replied “It’s easy if you stand on a chair.” Nearby, closer to the Waterfront, is the famous square red and white lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses in the country built in 1824.

 

Bantry Bay
The most exclusive real estate apartments in the Cape are found here. Built steeply on rocks as close as you can possibly get to the sea, facing a turbulent little bay. Each floor is a terraced step with a swimming pool that appears to extend right into the sea. Parking is on the roof at road height and with steep cliffs above and below there is not much room to stop and ponder on this stretch of road.

Clifton
The four small beaches of Clifton are inter-linked by giant granite boulders and the trendy 4th beach is the busiest with beautiful people playing volleyball, frisbee, strolling or sunbathing. It is wonderfully sheltered here from the summer south-east wind but not many people actually brave the icy water. Yachts, speed boats and jet skis come and play in the bay and it has the atmosphere, if not the warm water, of a Mediterranean resort.

Hout Bay
The early Dutch settlers sent a party to explore the bay behind Table Mountain and found a beautiful heavily wooded valley surrounded by protective mountains and good fishing. The trees became the main source of timber for ship building and repairs and it became known as Houtbaai (Wood Bay). Current residents call it the ‘Republic of Hout Bay’ because they feel aloof from the rest of Cape Town. It is a sociable village with people chatting in cafes and a main street of interesting shops and an excellent craft market on the green every Sunday. The busy harbour is the centre for the tuna and crayfishing fleets with fish and chip restaurants a stone’s throw from the water’s edge. The beach is long and sandy and safe for swimming and watersports like sea kayaking or dinghy sailing. Only 20 minutes drive from the centre of Cape Town this is a lovely place to base your holiday.

*Optional tour (Boat ride to seal island)

Chapmans Peak
Chapman’s Peak Drive is one of the most scenic marine cliff drives in the world. It was hewn into the side of the mountain between 1915- 1922, cut on the dividing line of the base granite and sedimentary sandstone. Brilliantly coloured layers of red, orange and yellow silt along with dark purple lines of manganese are extraordinarily beautiful, but it is not advisable to take your eyes of the winding road which has a sheer drop to the sea. Luckily there are plenty of viewpoints for photos or a picnic, with spectacular scenery north to Hout Bay and south to Noordhoek and Kommitjie.

Cape Point
Cape Point is one of the greatest landmarks in the world: a wild and scenically spectacular area at the tip of the Cape Peninsula and African continent. It was here that the fearless Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Dias first rounded the Cape in 1488, and the large stone cross seen in the reserve, commemorates his achievement. Cape Point is situated in the Cape Peninsula National Park and brown and white bontebok antelopes, dawdling tortoises and dashing ostriches can be seen on a drive through the pristine nature reserve. The flora too deserves your attention with 2 200 species of plants including giant headed protea bushes flowering in winter and pretty little ericas which you will not see anywhere else on earth.

Constantia Wine Estate
Constantia is one of the most up market suburbs of Cape Town with enormous houses set in leafy grounds behind big walls. In the shadow of Table Mountain the area is green and cool with a good selection of hotels and guest houses. Groot Constantia, the Cape’s oldest vineyard and fine Cape Dutch homestead is located here.

Historic Simons Town
This is a quintessentially English seaside town with intricate Victorian wrought iron balustrades and the flag flying British Hotel dominating the main street. Enticing alley ways lead up to whitewashed houses on the hillside which overlook a charming waterfront complex and the False Bay Yacht Club alongside extensive Navy buildings.

Boulders Penguins
This is a delightful area to spend some of your holiday and a visit to the rare African Jackass Penguin colony at Boulder’s Beach, a couple of kilometers out of Simon’s Town, should not be missed. Further along the road towards Cape Point you are very likely to come across the resident troop of baboons who rule the road and jump onto car bonnets to peer nonchalantly in.